A longitudinal assessment of anaerobic threshold and distance-running performance

Abstract

Longitudinal changes in the anaerobic threshold (AT) and distance-running performances (DRP) were assessed with a 4.5-month interval between the pre-, mid-, and post-tests in a relatively homogeneous (in terms of both maximal aerobic power and DRP) sample of 21 male, trained, endurance runners (means age = 18.5 yr) than had been employed previously. ANOVA with repeated measures followed by the Newman- Keuls post-hoc comparison revealed that there were significant alterations in both DRP and AT. Even in this improved state, higher relationships (r greater than or equal to 0.75) between the DRP and AT-related attributes held up consistently over the 9-month training period. Anaerobic threshold (expressed as ml O2 X min-1 X kg-1) showed a correlation higher than 0.80 with 10,000-m race time in every set of tests. When the relationships between the absolute amount of change in the Vo2@AT and the absolute amount of change in DRP were evaluated, significant correlations (r = -0.56 to -0.83) were found in several different time periods. Running velocity at AT (V@AT) also improved significantly, and was closely related to DRP changes. It is speculated that DRP changes are more directly accounted for by the Vo2@AT and/or V@AT changes rather than changes in other physiological attributes.